Birdsong

A year in the making, the film documents Sean Ronayne's unique mission to record the call of every bird species in Ireland – that’s nearly 200 birds. As more than half of these species are red- or amber-listed, it's a race against time.

Described as “visually stunning” (The Examiner) and “elegiac” (The Guardian), the film follows Seán as he travels to some of the country’s most spectacular and remote locations to capture its rarest species and sounds. Often joined by his partner Alba, Ronayne journeys to the busy seabird colony of Skellig Michael, a native woodland free from road noise in the Burren, the corncrake stronghold of Tory Island, and a solitary nest in the Donegal uplands.

Along the way, the audience gets to know Seán, whose hypersensitivity to sound has proven both a struggle and a strength.

At once inspiring and cautionary, Seán’s journey illustrates the beauty and importance of sound, and what listening can tell us about the state of our natural world.